U.S. Gasoline & Oil Prices Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline prices rise again.
- Crude oil prices rise to highest level since April.
- Natural gas prices steady.
Retail gasoline prices improved two cents last week to an average $3.68 per gallon (-20.1% y/y) for all grades after falling two cents to $3.66 the week prior. Prices have been volatile over the last year, ranging between $3.20 and $5.11. The retail price for on-highway diesel fuel held steady at $3.81 per gallon (-29.9% y/y) last week after easing to $3.77 in the previous week. Prices have ranged this past year between $3.77 per gallon and $5.81 per gallon.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil strengthened to $75.20 per barrel (-24.1% y/y) in the week ended July 14 from $71.80 per barrel in the prior week. It was the highest price since the last week of April. Despite the increase, the price remained well below the high of $120.46 in the week of June 10, 2022. Yesterday, the price was $74.15 per barrel. Brent crude prices rose to $79.79 per barrel (-27.3% y/y), also the highest price since early-April from $76.60 per barrel in the prior week. The recent high was $127.40 in the week of June 10, 2022. Yesterday’s price was $78.53 per barrel.
Natural gas prices averaged $2.53/mmbtu (-62.6% y/y) in the week of July 14, unchanged from the prior week. Prices have ranged between a low of $1.93 in the first week of June and $8.95 in the second week of June 2022.
In the four weeks ended July 7, gasoline demand rose a strengthened 6.1% from a year earlier after increasing 4.3% y/y in the prior four-week period. Demand for all petroleum products increased 2.6% y/y versus 3.5% y/y in the prior week. Crude oil input to refineries eased 0.9% in the latest four weeks versus a year ago.
Gasoline inventories fell 2.4% y/y in the July 7 week following a 0.2% rise during the prior week. Inventories of distillate fuel oil rose 3.8% y/y in the latest week after 2.0% y/y the week prior and residual fuel oil inventories were up 4.4% y/y after an 8.6% y/y rise in the prior week. Crude oil inventories including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell 11.8% from a year ago after a 12.7% y/y decrease in the prior week.
Measured in days’ supply, gasoline inventories in the week of July 7 were 23.7 days, up slightly from 23.4 days in the prior week. The recent high was 29.6 days in late December and the recent low was 23.5 days in the last week of May. The supply of crude oil as of July 7 was 28.0 days, up from 27.7 days in the prior week. The recent high was 31.9 days at the beginning of March.
These data are reported by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. The price and supply/demand data can be found in Haver’s WEEKLY database.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
More Economy in Brief
